Best Club/Live DJ

When You’re Ready to Shake It

1 DJ Automatic
For years now, Merritt Rieland, aka DJ Automatic, has taken over the airwaves at KISS FM and gotten the people dancing at his weekly gig at Fusion.

It was approximately 14 years ago when he decided DJing was something he really wanted to do. He started getting serious about it and wound up getting gigs all over the world. “But I always represent Santa Fe,” Automatic says. Word to that. His deal with Fusion and his radio DJ duties have been the perfect stepping stones for his music. Recently, Automatic joined the Shadyville DJs, a collective of worldwide DJs assembled by Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. Some mix tapes are in the works, including a series called Mix Tales in which Automatic interviews hip-hop and rap superstars about their early days in the business or how they broke into music, and then sets the interviews to music.

Keep an eye out this July for A Night At DJ Automatic. The mix will touch on a variety of genres and bands from The Police to The Jackson 5. A DJ workshop at Warehouse 21 and plenty of shows also are in the works. “I feel very fortunate to be where I am,” Automatic says. “It was a lot of hard work, but it’s paid off. Sometimes even I can’t believe the success I’ve had, and I will always be grateful.” I just have to say it: DJ Automatic is a badass.